Netflix's live-action Locke & Key adaption had a strong start when it launched in 2020. The show relates the tale of the Locke family and their expansive ancestral estate in Massachusetts, which also happens to be home to some very cool magical keys. It is based on the fantastic comic book by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.
The show's first season combined the dark family drama and otherworldly premise of the comic with some high school antics straight out of Riverdale. Although the enchantment and the mystery that made the first season so intriguing were lost in season two due to a weak villain and a rush in pacing. The show is returning with its third and last season, which aims to put everything to rest. It's not the course correction Locke and Key really needed, despite some interesting concepts.
Since Season 3 continues up directly where Season 2 left off, the Locke family is continuing to live their lives as if nothing has changed. However, there are some significant adjustments. After a pointless road journey, older brother Tyler (Connor Jessup) is now off in Montana building homes and leading a quiet life after consciously choosing to erase all thoughts of magic from his head.
On the other hand, Locke mother Nina (Darby Stanchfield) has used the keys to revive her magical memories in an effort to lessen her sense of estrangement from the rest of her family. In the Locke and Key universe, unless you use a special key, everyone automatically forgets about the presence of magic once they reach adulthood.
When Tyler first visits his hometown for his uncle's wedding, things become awkward because he is unable to recall any of the significant life events that have occurred during the previous two seasons. With his younger brother Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) and sister Kinsey (Emilia Jones), he doesn't have much to say, and he starts to suspect that everyone is hiding something from him. Yet, as the season 2 conclusion hinted, a new antagonist has emerged in the form of Frederick Gideon (Kevin Durand), a British soldier from colonial Massachusetts who has been transformed into a modern-day devil. This forces him to get back into it all once more.
The most important thing for you to understand is that Gideon intends to use the keys to break through the barrier separating our world from the glistening blue realm of demons. However, his motivations are never totally obvious or made clear to us.
The new season excels at a few specific aspects. Like in the early episodes of Locke and Key, it's a lot of fun to discover about the keys and what they can do. Next, there are new keys that are full of potential. In season 3, a key-powered snow globe with the potential to imprison victims permanently and a time-travel key with some very significant restrictions are also introduced.
These keys always "whisper" to the Locke family when it's time for them to show up. The show's climax takes place primarily in the mind of a theatre enthusiast. There are several outstanding performances in this third season as well, but Scott as Bode stands out. He is as annoying as usual, but he also takes a turn as a surprisingly potent antagonist. He has really grown into the part well and shone at the right time.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the principle, there are several unnecessarily difficult issues. At this stage in the story, keeping track of everyone's whereabouts practically requires a spreadsheet. You have to be concerned about the functions and locations of the various keys, who remembers magic and who doesn't, as well as the fact that certain persons have altered their physical characteristics. It can be difficult to remember how everything works.
The new villain is terrible, much like in season 2. Although it's not much of a compliment, Gideon isn't nearly as horrible as the incredibly unnerving Gabe (Griffin Gluck). It's difficult to ever worry too much about the safety of the Lockes when the main bad guy both looks and sounds silly. It's especially frustrating because Dodge (Laysla De Oliveira) from season 1 was a great villain who was both terrifying and cunning; regrettably, she only appears briefly in the story's last chapter.
Maybe it's for the best that season 3 is extremely brief. Compared to the 10 episodes of the previous seasons, this one only has eight episodes, and some of them are just about half an hour long. The conclusion of the episode comes quickly and wraps up the plot quite cleanly. Hence it is a good ending.
Overall, Locke & Key had a lot of promise, but the quality of the season have dropped over time. It was slightly disappointing as there was a lot of promise. There was a good story and lots of interesting characters, but the pace struggled. It’s nice everything has ended, but it’s a shame it wasn’t better.
Performance | 3.1/5 |
Enjoyment | 3.3/5 |
Overall Rating | 3.2/5 |
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